Flow-measuring device.



F. N. CONNET.

FLOW MEASURING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 20, 1910.

Patented Feb. 23, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEEIL l/Vl/EIVTOR Frederik N. Connet ATTOR/IIH & WITNESSES F.N. UONNET.

FLOW MEASURING DEVICE. uguomz on FILED JUNE 20, 1910.

Patented Feb. 23, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.-

. V////VA IYIVIVEIIITOH 'fieo ewm/l/ 601M221 WITNESSES:

ATTORlI/EY manure.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Fnnpnmox N. a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Providence, in the county of Providence.and

State of Rhode Island, have invented cer' tain new anduseful'lm'provements in Flow- Measuring Devices, of which the followingis a specification, reference being bad therein to the accompanyingdrawing.

This inventionhas for its object to pro vide a simple and practicaldevice'which may be attached to a main fluid conduit" havingdiflerential pressures due to the velocity of flow therethrough whichIhave called primary pressures, and means whereby a secondary pressurewill be made equal or proportional to the difi'erence in the primarypressures, so that the amount of the secondary pressure will indicatethe rate'of flow through the main conduit.

Numerous devices have been constructed in which two columns of mercuryactuated by two difierent pressures in the main are employed as a mediumfor operating various means to show the rate of flow-through the main,but these instruments are more or less complicated, and thereforeexpensive, and

the mercury which is used in considerable quantities owing to the largepressures frequently involved adds materially to the expanes of theinstrument. I have therefore provided a device of simplifiedconstruction,

by which the rate of flow, of either liquids or gases, through the mainmay be accurately ascertained without the use of mercury.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certainnovel features of construction, as will be fully described andparticularly pointed out in the appended' claims.

In the accompanying drawings :.-Figure 1- is a diagrammatic and partialsectional view of my invention in one of its embodiments. Fig. 2 is asimilar view illustrating another embodiment of the invention. I I

Similar reference characters indicate the same or similar parts in bothviews.

My improved device may be constructed in many diderent ways, two ofwhich slightly difiering from one another are shown in the twoaccompanying drawings, partly in section. In these drawings 1 have shownthe device provided with an upper plate or head 1 and a lower plate 2,each Specification of Letters Patent. Application filedJunc 20, mo.Serial lto. teases.

CoNNE'r,

cation made a function of the flow Patented nee. eaters.

ducted through pipe 5 and lowerchamber 6 into which the low primarypressure is conducted through pipe 7, themovement of said difiphragmbeing controlled by the varying d1 erencesbetween these pressures.Against the lowerside. of this diaphragm rests a plate 8 which serves asan abutment for the downwardly extending stem 9, which stem is'held toreciprocate through the bearing 10 in the plate 2, its lower end asshown in Fig. 1 extending into chamber 11 in the fixed or rigidly heldmember 12. A pressure equalizing'pipe 12 connects this chamber 11 withchamber 6. A yoke 13 is secured as at 14 to reciprocate with this stem9, its lower end 15 resting upon the upper face of plate 16, whichlatter rests upon a second diaphragin 17, the latter being held at itsperiphery between the ring 18 and the plate other convenient source ofpressure through pipe 24:, the ressure contained in pipe 24 being hereinesignated as an auxiliar pressure. The inlet opening 25 is contro ledbythe position of needle valve 26 which is secured to ando erated by thediaphragm 1?.

The pressure rom this chamber 22 is conducted to the chamber 20 belowthe diathe amount which passes through-the main 1 phragm 17 through thepipe 26. A simple galge27, or other suitable instrument may conduit 28,since the pressure in said cham-'- her is by the means described in thiss ecifiire . prefer that shown in Fig. l and will more liquid, and arigid stem 9 is mounted between the plates 8 and 16 of the diaphragms 3'and 17 respectively. Figs. 1 and 2 serve to indicate only two of manyforms my device may take, but of these two I particularly describe theoperation of that form,as follows: .The liquid or gas flows through thetube 28 in the direction of the arrow. This tube 28 in practice willfrequently be below the device instead of above as shown in the drawing.The high pressure or up-stream side of the tube 28 is connected at 31through the pipe 5 to the chamber 4: on one side-of the diaphragm 3, andthe throat or reduced pressure portion in the tube is connected throughpipe 7 to chamber 6 on the opposite side of said diaphragm. When thereis no fiow'through the tube, the pressure. at all points therein isofcourse equal, and ordinarily the indicator or gage 27 would stand atzero, but in the form shown in Fig. l I have inserted a spring 29 whichpresses the diaphragm 3 gently downward causing the gage to indicate adefinite amount'above the actual differences from which as a startingpoint the gage will be graduated and the actual difference in pressurewill be figured. The

- use of this spring is not absolutely necessary to the operation of mydevice, but is. simply for the purpose of compensating for inaccuracieswhich are usual in the ordinary spring actuated gage when starting fromzero. As soon as the flow begins, the pressure in the throat 30- becomesless than that at the point 31, therefore the diaphragm 3 is presseddownwardly andthrough the stem 9 and yoke 13 presses on the seconddiaphragm. 17 and withdraws the needle 26 from its seat, openingaperture 25 and admitting the auxiliary pressure from pipe 24,(whichmust necessarily always be sufficient to bring the pressures aboveand below the diaphragm '3 intoequilibrium), to pass by way of pipe 26around beneath said diaphragm 17 until the secondary pressure in chamber20 equalizes the difl'erence between the two primary pressures, carryingupwardly the needle valve and closing the aperture 25. In order to makethe diaphragm l7 sensitive to work in both directions I have provided asmall vent 33 or bleed pipe thereby keeping a constant but mildcirculation of, the fluid underthe secondary pressure. It will now beseen from the above that when the device 1s constructed as in Fig. 1 ofthe drawings the secondary pressurein chamber 20 and pipe 26 exactlybalances the difference between the pressures at the two points in themain and any means may be connected to this secondary pressure chamberto be actuated by the said fluid for'showing the amount which passesthrough the main.

In Fig. 2, there is no tank 23 or auxiliary pressure supplied thereby,but the liquid in chamber 20 and pipe 26 is compressed until thepressure therein, termed the secondary pressure, equals the dilferencebetween the primary pressures.

- As shown in thedrawings the diaphragms 3 and 17 are of equal area andthe secondary pressure will therefore equal the difference between theprimary pressures. But it may be advisable at times to make thesecondary pressure either greater or less thanthe difference between theprimary pressures and in some definite proportion of such diiference.This will be readily accomplished by making diaphragm 17 smaller orlarger than diaphragm 3, but I have intended to use the wordproportional in the claims to cover not only a structure where thediaphragms are unequal but also where they are equal.

The term gage for the device indicated at 27 is employed for brevity ofdescription and not of limitation. Any device which will show to theuser the information In- .tended to be imparted by the whole mechanismmay be employed as the gage referred to in the claims. The wordreceptacle in the claims is understood to include the supply pipe orconduit as well as any other chamber in which the secondary pressuremaybe held or passed through.

A further exemplification of integrating mechanism is shown in Fig. 2attached to pipe 26", in which the pipe 26 leads to a mercury well 35communicating w1th the cylinder 36. In this cylinder floats the p15:

tion 37 to which is connected the rod 38 parts; as herein shown anddescribed as the same may be modified in any desired way to perform thefunction of causing the difference between, two fiuid pressures toregulate a'second fluid pressure and make the latter equal orproportional to said difference.

I have shown the difierent pressures as rating. through the movement ofdie- 0 .p ragms, but any other suitable equivalent for said dia hra s mabe em 10 ed' if desired. I liiave a l so shd wn my de ice. as beingconnected to a Venturi tube, but I do notwish to be; restricted to theconnection of 171.118 device to such a tube, as the same sa ora I i tamay be connected to any main conduit having diiierent pressure atdifierent points due to the flow throughthe conduit, and any mechanismadapted to be so connected as to perform such function will fall withinthe spirit and scope of my invention, one practical embodiment of whichin two c. slightly varying forms has'been herein illustrated anddescribed without attemptin to show all of the various forms and mo'dications in which my invention might be embodied.

Having thus described my invention, what Iclaimis:

1. In a fluid measuring device, a dia phra m, a stem secured to saiddiaphragm, a yo e secured to said stem, means controlled by the flowthrough amain for producing a difierence in pressure against opupositesides of said diaphragm whereby the "latter. and said yoke are caused tomove; a.

stationary member having a secondary pressure chamber therein, means forsupplying secondary pressure to said chamber, means controlled'by themovement of said yoke fpr regulating the amount of secondary pressuresupplied to said chamber whereby said difierence of pressureisequalized, and means for measuring said secondary pressure.

2 In a fluid measuring device a dia-' secondary pressure to saidchamber, a valve operated by the movement of said yoke for regulatingthe amount of said secondary pressure supplied to said chamber wherebysaid difference of pressure is equalized, and means for measuringsaid'secondary pressure.

3. In a fluid measuring device, a diaphragm, a stem secured to saiddiaphr a member disposed within 'saidyoke and having a valve chambertherein, a stationary member having a secondary pressure chambertherein, a source of secondary pressure, a conduit leading from saidsource to said valve chamber, a conduit leading from said valve chamberto said secondary pressure chamber, a valve operated by the movement ofsaid yoke to control the amount of secondary pressure admitted to saidsecondary pressure chamber, whereby said difference of pressure isequalized, and means for measuring said secondary pressure.

4;. In a fluid measuring device, a diaphra a stem secured to saiddiaphragm, a yo e secured to said stem, means controlled by the flowthrough a main for producing a difference in pressure against oppositesides'of said diaphragm whereby the latter and said yoke are caused tomove, a member disposed within said yoke and having a valve chambertherein, a stationary member having a secondary pressure chambertherein, a diaphragm composing the upper wall of said secondarypressurechamher, said diaphragm being connected to the lower end of said yoke, asource of secondary pressure, a conduit leading from said source to saidvalve chamber, a conduit.

leading from said valve chamber to said secondary pressure chamber, anda valve in said valve chamber controlled by ,the movenient of said yoketo regulate the amount of secondary pressure supplied to'said secondarychamber, whereby said difference of pressure is equalized, and means formeasuring said secondary pressure.

inpresence of two witnesses.

. FREDERICK N. CONNE'I.

Witnesses: 1

Fnnnniuo A. .Gnnnnn, E. I. OGDEN. 1

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature

